UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- The UN envoy for Yemen said Friday he plans to visit Hodeidah next week to work toward a UN supervision over the Yemeni port that handles 80 percent of the humanitarian relief to the war-torn country.
"I plan to visit Hodeidah next week ... to revisit a UN supervisory role (for the port)," Martin Griffiths, the special envoy of the secretary-general for Yemen, told the Security Council.
He added he is encouraged by the recent calls from the Yemeni government and the Houthi rebels as well as the Saud-led coalition backing the government "for the UN to step forward" in this regard.
Over the summer, the UN envoy made some progress to reach a negotiated handover of the port to the UN. He vowed: "Let us build on this rather than retreat from this."
In June, the coalition started an operation to retake from the Houthis the port, a vital lifeline for a country already teetering on the brink of famine.
Recent reports have said the coalition have abandoned this attempt to capture Hodeidah without any gains amid concern about a humanitarian catastrophe.
